Paula Rego: Nursery Rhymes

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Rego's first award was a bursary from the Gulbenkian Foundation of Lisbon in 1962–63, [8] an organisation that later held a retrospective solo exhibition of her work in 1988. [62] These days, she gets her greatest pleasure from "films, cakes, poetry, and seeing the great grandchildren". And making art, naturally: "My working day isn't so different. I go to the studio with Lila [Nunes, her model and friend of more than 30 years]. We discuss what we'll do over a cup of tea. I work to opera in the morning, and Fado after lunch and a nap." At the end of the day she and Lila always have a glass of champagne, because "it makes me tipsy, in a happy way". A Portfolio – Nine London Birds, Byam Shaw School of Art, London, introduction by John McEwen (1994) [8] Nursery rhymes are traditional rhymes passed onto children by adults. The first known book of rhymes was published around 1744. Many have sought to find hidden meanings or references to political satire within the verse but most are simply nonsensical rhymes that delight and amuse small children. Goosey, Goosey Gander whither shall I wander?

The paintings were published in several Portuguese newspapers before a second referendum on abortion in 2007, which reversed the 1998 result; it is thought that the paintings significantly affected the result. [38] Rosenthal, T. G. (2012). Paula Rego: the complete graphic work. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-09368-9. OCLC 776773689. This paper looks at the circumstances that led up to the series, how the prints were made and how they were viewed. It also reflects on the imagery both in terms of personal iconography and its references to a wide range of graphic work. It does so from my unique perspective as the printer and collaborator in the project. As Rego herself explained:Though titled The Dance, there is much more going on in this picture than a simple celebratory act. Rego depicts two dancing couples, a dancing trio, and a much larger single figure to the side. The people do not necessarily look like they are at the same party, let alone dancing to the same music. The couples seem mostly entwined, particularly the couple to the left of centre, dancing tightly together. The trio represents a profound illustration on the passing of time; a grandmother, mother, and daughter move gracefully together through the cycle of life. Indeed, there is a poignant comparison to be made with this painting and that of the Dance of Life, made by Edvard Munch in 1899. Like the Norwegian Expressionist, Rego too is interested in how human behaviour changes according to whether we are alone, in a couple, or part of a group. She also shares with Munch an interest in the passing from the state of innocence to experience, and in this particular case, to setting a scene at night, the prime time for unconscious musings. Maria Manuel Lisboa, "Paula Rego's Map of Memory: National and Sexual Politics" (London: Ashgate, 2003)

All of the prints were in editions of 50 bar one, Untitled, which was in an edition of 15. Numbers 1-15 were presented in 'De-Luxe Portfolios', each containing 26 etchings including 'Untitled'. 16-50 were either sold as 'Standard Portfolios' containing 26 etchings, or sold as individual prints. Paula Rego: The largest and most comprehensive retrospective of Paula Rego's work to date, Tate Britain, London (2021) [67] Rego's work was included in the 2022 exhibition Women Painting Women at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. [26] In 2023 some of her art was exhibited at the Pera Museum in Istanbul. [27] Curator's comments Edition of 50 with 14 artist's proofs and 5 hors commerce copies, 3 handcoloured by Charlotte Hodes. Proofed and editioned by Paul Coldwell at Culford Press, London. Included in the Nursery Rhymes portfolio. The Nursery Rhymes were a series of 31 etchings and aquatints published by the artist and Marlborough Graphics, London in 1989. 26 were included in the portfolio editions, the remaining 5 published separately.a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az "Paula Rego". Saatchi Gallery. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014 . Retrieved 9 June 2022. Rego was a supporter of the football club S.L. Benfica, of which her grandfather was a founding member. [43] Victor Willing, 'The Imagiconography of Paula Rego', in Tate Gallery, Paula Rego (London: Tate Publishing, 1997) p.37 In 1962, Rego's father bought the couple a house in London, at Albert Street in Camden Town, and Rego's time was spent divided between Britain and Portugal. Her husband had several extra-marital affairs throughout their marriage, and some of his mistresses were depicted in Rego's drawings. [41] Nursery Rhymes, Marlborough Graphics Gallery, Galeria III and Galeria Zen (1989), the Cheltenham Literary Festival (1993), Cardiff Literature Festival (1995) and the University Gallery, University of Northumbria at Newcastle (1996) [62]

Fiona Bradley, 'Introduction: Automatic Narratives', in Tate Gallery, Paula Rego (London: Tate Publishing, 1997) p.13–19 In 1995, Rego used pastels to revise the story of Snow White in her drawing Swallows the Poisoned Apple. [17] In her work, Snow White is pictured after she has eaten the poisoned apple and appears older and in some type of physical pain. She "lays clutching her skirts, as if trying to cling to life and her femininity which are slipping away". [18] This was done to show what a female goes through during the processes of life [19] and ageing over the years, as well as showing the "physical and psychological violation" age plays in a female's life. [20] At the time the artwork was made, Rego was about 60 years old and her age did play a significant part in this artwork. In 1988, Rego was the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon and the Serpentine Gallery in London. [13] This led to her being invited to become the first Associate Artist at the National Gallery, London, in 1990, in what was the first of a series of artist-in-residence schemes organized by the gallery. [14] [3] From this emerged two sets of work. The first was a series of paintings and prints on the theme of nursery rhymes, which was taken around Britain and elsewhere by the Arts Council of Great Britain and the British Council from 1991 to 1996. The second was a series of large-scale paintings inspired by the paintings of Carlo Crivelli in the National Gallery, known as Crivelli's Garden which have been housed in the main restaurant at the gallery [15] prior to its temporary shutting to allow for the renovation works planned to renew the Sainsbury Wing in celebration of the National Gallery's bicentenary in 2024. [16]Staff, The Baer Faxt (21 October 2021). "The Evolving Works of Paula Rego, Master of Power & Politics". THE BAER FAXT . Retrieved 24 May 2023. Strom, A (2004). "Untitled: The Abortion Pastels: Paula Rego's Series on Abortion". Reproductive Health Matters. 12 (24): 195–197. doi: 10.1016/S0968-8080(04)24014-9. JSTOR 3776131. PMID 15938173. S2CID 11886324– via JSTOR. Rego's family were keen Anglophiles, and Rego was sent to the only English-language school in the Lisbon area at the time, Saint Julian's School in Carcavelos, which she attended from 1945 to 1951. [2] St Julian's School was Anglican and this, combined with the hostility of Rego's father to the Roman Catholic Church, served to create a distance between Rego and full-blooded Roman Catholic belief, although she was nominally a Roman Catholic and lived in a devoutly Roman Catholic country. Rego described herself as having become a "sort of Catholic", but as a child she possessed a sense of Catholic guilt and a very strong belief that the Devil was real. [7] Education [ edit ]

Rosengarten, Ruth (2011). Love and authority in the work of Paula Rego: narrating the family romance. Manchester [England]: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-8070-8. OCLC 662578198. Paula Rego: "O meu clube é o Benfica" "[Paula Rego: "My club is Benfica"]. Record (in Portuguese). 22 May 2014. Gopnik, Blake. "Paula Rego: National Museum of Women in the Arts". ARTFORUM . Retrieved 9 June 2022. In 2009 a museum dedicated to Rego's work and designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, the Casa das Histórias Paula Rego, was opened in Cascais, Portugal, and several key exhibitions of her work have since been staged there. [79] She further went on to receive honorary degrees: a Master of Arts from the Winchester School of Art in 1992, Doctorate of Letters from the University of St Andrews and the University of East Anglia, both in 1999, [8] the Rhode Island School of Design in 2000, the London Institute in 2002, and the University of Oxford and Roehampton University in 2005. In 2011 she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Lisbon and in 2013 she was elected Honorary Fellow of Murray Edwards College, Cambridge, receiving an honorary doctorate of letters from the University of Cambridge in 2015. [2]The series was born from my indignation… It is unbelievable that women who have an abortion should be considered criminals. It reminds me of the past… I cannot abide the idea of blame in relation to this act. What each woman suffers in having to do it is enough. But all this stems from Portugal's totalitarian past, from women dressed up in aprons, baking cakes like good housewives. In democratic Portugal today there is still a subtle form of oppression… The question of abortion is part of all that violent context." [37]